And then, there was love
by Fairest Verona
Summary: Marauder's Era. AU. RemusxOC. A dramatic girl comes into Remus Lupin's bookstore wanting some very interesting reading material. Mostly het. Mentions of slash and all that jazz. Not explicit, just some mentions and a good bit of swearing at times.
1. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone, I'm Verona! This is my first fic on FanFiction and albeit it's going to be a long one. This fic is actually why I finally made a FanFiction account. I felt like someone is bound to read the story and it shouldn't just sit on a shelf all day long. Now, this probably won't be a very good fic, seeing as it's AU and my first legit multi-chapter fic. Just call me The Drabble Queen. I haven't posted any drabbles on FanFiction seeing as I've felt no need to, but I may post the companion ones to this fic. They'll be cute and fluffy and I believe one will be Rocky Horror themed. Oh yes. Anyhoo, I have no beta, so the grammar may be atrocious. (I would love one, though. -hinthint-) I wouldn't know, I'm typing at light speed seeing as I already have five chapters written. Criticism would be great, Flames are loved, and Encouragement will earn you brownie points. Oh! This is a heterosexual fic (meaning boy-girl straight as an arrow love), but there are mentions of slash. So, if slash and gay flatmates/godfathers bother you, don't read it. Don't flame because you hate flamboyant Sirius. Got it? Good. Finally, so that I may end this annoyingly long Author's Note. I am a supporter of Wolfstar (Sirius/Remus slash) and they are probably my favorite Harry Potter couple. I was just bitten by the plot bunnies and it turned into a huge story. Okay, I'm done now. Read on!

**Spoilers: **Um, it's an AU fic, so I don't think there is any. Tread with caution, just to be sure.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. If I did, there would be a separate series about the adventures the Marauders share. I do own David and Carson and Joanna, however.

**Rating:** T, for mentions of erotic pornography and sexual themes. Oh, and swearing. Joanna does have a bit of a mouth on her.

Joanna's point of view

"Is David sure this the right place?" Joanna asked herself as she looked for the store's address to the address written on the scrap of paper. She sighed as she placed the piece of paper into her jean pocket and walk through the door. The door's bell gave a soft ding as she walked in, alerting the shopkeeper to her presence.

"Hello, Welcome to Hogwarts Bookstore. I'm Remus Lupin, how may I help you?" He said automatically in a polite manner. Remus looked to be a little older than Joanna herself with a smooth, scholarly voice that seemed to know exactly what it was doing. He was very tall, with thin gangly limbs and a seemingly worn, tired face that appeared very alert to everything around him. Remus had almost glowing brown eyes that seemed to haunt you wherever you went.

"Er... Hello," Joanna said in a strained voice. She gave a little wave and stood there awkwardly for a moment. "I, uh, need these books," She said quickly as she shoved a list of books into his hands. Damn David and his strange taste in literature.

As Remus read the list in question, he raised an eyebrow and looked over at Joanna questioningly. "Ma'am, you do realize that the books in question are all homo-erotic pornography novels, correct?" Joanna looked flustered. It would have been fine if the shopkeeper was some creepy old man whose opinion Joanna didn't give a damn about, but no. David had to send her to the bookstore that had a very handsome- albeit familiar- and polite young man working there who wasn't creepy at all. She swore her flatmate did this on purpose sometimes.

Joanna snorted. "Ma'am? Please, I'm probably younger than you. And besides, they aren't for me! They're for my flatmate," Joanna said indignantly. She was Joanna Florence Ackerley, damn it! She wasn't going to let this shopkeeper talk to her like she was some sort of pervert. Remus gave her an 'If You Say So' looked and reread the list. Joanna gave an angry huff and said, "If you don't believe me then here is the letter he left this morning, because he's to much of a lazy bastard to get out of bed and get the damned things!" She shoved a crumpled piece of paper into Remus's hand. It read:

Dearest Jo,  
Remember that favor you owe me? Well, it's time to pay up. I need you to get me and Carson these books for tonight. He promised me that he had a surprise that involved handcuffs for tonight. Anywhore, go get me these books and your debt will be forever repaid. I shall never mention said debt again, blah blah blah, so on and so forth, ect.

Your gay husband and loving flatmate,  
David

P.S. Make yourself scarce from 5 to like, tomorrow. Okay? If you don't, well too bad for you. It's a small flat.

Joanna crossed her arms and waited for Remus to respond. "My apologies, Miss Jo...?" Remus asked uncertainly.

"Joanna Florence Ackerley, at your service," Joanna replied, bowing in her usual dramatic fashion. Joanna was drama personified. Her motto, 'Go big or go home.' Usually rang true with whatever she did. Joanna did do shy hardly ever. She was confident. Over confident and egotistic, many would say, but confident none the less.

Remus smiled at her obviously flair for dramatics and yelled behind him, "Sirius! We have an order! It's your specialty!" A man with long, wild black hair and grey eyes popped out from one of the back rooms. He was younger looking than Remus, with aristocratic features and a general essence of importance.

"My specialty?" Sirius asked as he eyes Joanna suspiciously.

"Mmm Hmm," Remus replied, "'Owes her gay flatmate a favor." Sirius nodded in understanding and grabbed the list before dashing off to the back room with a wink towards Remus. What the bloody Hell did that mean? She thought.

Joanna raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. "He didn't need convincing? And what did you mean by 'his specialty?" Joanna asked bluntly.

Remus laughed in a hushed, quiet way, "I suppose one would call Sirius my gay flatmate," he said and after seeing her face added, "Not that I'm homosexual! He's just one of my best mates that I've known for a long time and I know he's not attracted to me in any way. Oh, and about his 'specialty'. I own the half of Hogwarts with actual books, Sirius owns the pornography section. We usually refer to it as 'the back room' or 'his specialty'." Joanna nodded in understanding. "So, Miss Ackerley, Sirius will probably take a while. Is there anything else you might need?"

Joanna pondered this for a moment. "Hmmm, well Mr. Lupin seeing as I am in a bookstore, would you be so kind as to recommend a book that would catch my interest?" She asked in the poshest voice she could muster. Remus's eyes lit up at the prospect of finding the perfect book. Joanna followed him to a shelf of books, smiling.

"What are you interested in, Miss Ackerley? A classic? A tale of adventure or misfortune? Horrifying or Romantic?" He asked eagerly. Joanna shrugged, "Something that will keep my attention, that is very difficult to do, I assure you, Mr. Lupin And you may call me Joanna, if you wish. I believe it is customary to call your peers by their first names, yes? I do believe we would be close in age seeing as I am twenty-four and you are...?"

"Twenty-four as well Mi- I mean Joanna. You may call me Remus, if you like. Oh! What about The Scarlet Letter? You seem like the kind of person who would enjoy it," Remus replied as he reached up to the top shelf. His shirt lifted up a bit and Joanna noticed how remarkably skinny Remus was.

Joanna flipped through the book she was handed and smiled, "Thank you, Remus. I'm sure I'll love it." Remus smiled as he walked back up to the front.

"Would you like me to ring it up for you...?" Joanna shook her head, "I'll make David pay. This more than covers my debt. I already have to find a place to crash tonight," She said exasperated.

**End Note: **Damn, that was short. I looked so much longer in my notebook... Ah well, next chapter will be in Remus's POV. It'ss be almost identical to this one, but with quirky British thoughts! Oh and please tell in if you think Remmy is being OOC. I think he's all good in this chapter, but in the next...

~Verona


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts, Part 2

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Verona here again. I'm sorry I took so long, my family went on vacation and we got a new computer. I acctually have quite a bit written, I'm just too lazy to type it up. I'm going to try to keep this note short and sweet. I'm sorry there are so many mistakes in the last one! And that the chapters and super short... Really! But the story is acctually pretty slow. I'm in the middle of chapter seven and they still haven't arrived at Remus's house. However! They do leave the bookstore in the next chapter. Jo takes him on an... Interesting adventure.  
So, yes. I still haven't written the promised drabbles and Remus will have a condition similar to lycanthropy. Except not at all lycanthropy, but he will be in the hosbital at some point in time! Um, yeah. Enjoy?

**Rating: **T, just to be safe.

**Spoilers: **None~

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter in any shape, form, or manner. If I did Remmy and Sirius would still be alive and Teddy would've have been their adopted child.

_Remus's point of view_

Remus had been flipping through a book as the door's bell dinged. He looked up automatically and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts bookstore. I'm Remus Lupin, how may I help you?" He gave the customer his best shopkeeper smile and saw her. She was pretty; he had to give her that. The girl had long, dark brown and a pale-ish skin. She was neither fat nor thin, merely average. The girl looked to be his age and had a general aura of what he could only describe as "softness". Remus mentally cursed himself, _No gawking at the customers_. The hello she gave was strained, but he paid no mind. It wasn't his place to judge. Remus looked at the list she handed him and was shocked. Surely she knew what these books were…? "Ma'am, you do realize that the books in question are homo-erotic pornography books, right?" he asked as polite as he could. She definitely didn't _look_ like what they referred to as a yaoi fangirl.

The girl looked flustered. "Ma'am? Please, I'm probably younger than you. And besides, they aren't for me! They're for my flatmate!" She said in angry protest. Like he hadn't heard _that_ one before. 'It's for my flatmate,' is quite possibly one of the oldest excuses in the metaphorical book. 'If you say so…' he thought and, judging from her reaction, it was written all over his face. "If you don't believe me, then here is the letter he wrote me because he's too much of a lazy bastard to get out of bed and get the damned things!" A crumpled piece of paper was thrust into his hand and as he read it, he realized that she was making up excuses after all. Still, this David person seemed like quite the character. Remus wondered what he could've done to make her owe him.

"My apologies, Miss Jo…?" Remus said uncertainly.

"Joanna Florence Ackerley, at your service," Joanna replied with an exaggerated bow. _My, my she _is _dramatic, _Remus thought, a slight smile escaping due to her antics. Remus then remembered her list of books.

"Sirius!" he called, looking behind him, "We have an order! It's your specialty!"

Sirius Black popped out of the back room, looking eager. He had been one of Remus's closest mates since they attended The Gryffindor Academy for Boys together. When they left school, Sirius came out of the closet. His parents disowned him and he had no money, so he moved in with Remus. Soon enough, Hogwarts Bookstore was created. "My specialty?" Sirius asked, eying Joanna with a suspicious look. Remus fought the urge the laugh, but a soft chuckle managed to slip. Sirius never did like yaoi fangirls.

"Mmm Hmm," Remus replied, "Owes her gay flatmate a favor." Sirius nodded in understanding and grabbed the list with a wink before running off to the back. Joanna hadn't seemed to have known what it meant, but it was all too clear to Remus. It was his, "She's just your type, Remmy-kins" wink. Remus rolled his eyes in exasperation. He turned and saw Joanna's incredulous expression.

"_He_ didn't need convincing? And what do you mean by, 'his specialty'?"

Remus laughed quietly. "I suppose one would call Sirius _my_ gay flatmate. Not that I'm homosexual! He's just one of my best mates that I've known for a long time and I know he isn't attracted to me in any way. And about his specialty, I own the half of Hogwarts with actual books, Sirius owns the pornography section. We usually refer to is as 'the back room' or 'his specialty'," He explained. A look of understanding passed over Joanna's face. Remus pondered, briefly, whether or not to ask her about her debt, but decided it was too personal. "So, Miss Ackerley, Sirius will probably take a while. Is there anything else you might need?" Joanna thought about it for a moment and decided that she would like a book for herself. Remus smiled and was very excited to pick a book out for her. That was why he opened his store, to find the perfect book for anyone who came in. More so if the girl was pretty and seemed to have an interesting wit about her. He dashed off to a shelf, reading various titles as he passed them. Remus asked her what type of book she would like and a reply of "something to keep my interest" encouraged him

"You may call me Joanna if you wish. I do believe we are close in age. I'm twenty-four and you are…?"

Remus smiled, so they were on a first name basis now? "Twenty-four as well, you may call me Remus, if you like," He said as he found the book he had been searching for. "Oh! What about The Scarlet Letter? You seem like the kind of person who would enjoy it." Joanna smiled as she flipped through the pages and thank him. Remus smiled back and led her up to the register. "Would you like me to ring it up for you?"

Joanna shook her head. "I'll make David pay. This more than covers me debt. I already have to find a place to crash tonight."

Remus nodded and bit his lip in thought for a moment. "You could stay at my house. We have a guest bedroom and Sirius will be taking Harry to a father-son outing or something."

**End note: **So, yeah. I know it's short. Don't hate me?  
Also, I require reviews. No certain number. Two or three would be awesome. Okay? Then I'll post the second chapter, which is already typed up. I just need the reviews.

~Verona


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